ponder ponder

[maderr]

Was in the bookstore the other day,and have been watching clips from old video games I used to play.

Everyone under the sun knows the old cliche of Ye Olde Farm Boy From Nowhere Loses Village and Goes Off to Save the World.

It's one of the oldest cliches in fantasyland.

What I wonder is, what if the farmboy actually became the main villian? That would be interesting. Has that ever been done? Cause I mean, invariably Farmboy loses his chick or his village or he's wrongfully accused of some crime or becomes a sacrifice to the gods, blah blah. But invariably revenge or fighting for freedom turns into saving the world. It would totally be loads cooler if he wound up taking all his inherent power or what not and went evil.

That would beg the question of what exactly went down, of course. Also who would play the hero. Typically the inclination would be to go with a knight or soldier or somthing from Ye Grande Olde City, or the typical Band of Hereos in some fashion. I think it might be slightly more interesting to go with something like say a priest as an MC. Usually they either play minor chars or share screen time with the knights and shit. If the priest was the MC, that'd be interesting. Especially if we go less with the long flowing robes type priest and go with something a bit less tame. Not Super I Am Perfect Rawr! but slightly more....Eastern in fashion? Somewhere between a monk and a shaman-type.

Which means we could incorporoate a familiars-type style of magic. Perhaps the story starts with priesty boy passing tests or obtaining his familiar -- or appointed to carry out some mission and given a familiar. Or he could be getting punished, and perhaps the familiar as well, which would set up some sort of tension/discontent. The only question then remaining is if the familiar would be the LI, or if that would pop up somewhere else.

Ah, well. It's a thought. Back to editing I go.

Comments

[melayneseahawk.livejournal.com]

Hee, and you should totally write it. Now!

[rykaine.livejournal.com]

Ah, well. It's a thought.

Sounds more like a working outline to me. ^__^

[maderr.livejournal.com]

It does not! No! Pondering only!

Oh, yeah. Once my accounts settle and I'm sure I won't run in the red myself >_>;;; I'll send you monies for to send out those boxes. Sorry we didn't do it before I left ^^;;

[lokiloo.livejournal.com]

Actually, the main-good-guy-turned-bad-guy HAS been done in a video game. Sorta.

In Suikoden, the first game was about farm boy turned savior of world. Classic stuff. Pretty much the same with the second, give or take a mary-sue and plot point. The THIRD game, however, has three main characters, all with a different story, and different goal. And while the hero from the second game helps out, the hero from the forst game ends up being the bad-priest guy, and tries to get the countries to have another huge war. It was AWESOME.


...but could you write a story anyway....?

[maderr.livejournal.com]

Eh. That's not quite the same thing. Luc was always a bit sketch, and he was a priestess trained by whatshername for years and years and years. If anyone was small-town turned bad it was Joey from two, and he wasn't really -- he just did what he thought was best.

[lokiloo.livejournal.com]

All the more reason you should write one! :D

[alice_montrose]

It sounds really interesting, actually. I had an attempt at farmboy-turned-mage's apprentice-turned-villain, but it ended up in the form of a short introspective fragment and that was it. So IMO you should go for it if you can find the time.

[joisbishmyoga.livejournal.com]

Do it pretty please? It sounds neat!

[(Anonymous)]

Fable on the Xbox. You can chose to be good or evil and your character can be gay and marry a guy.

[escagirluk.livejournal.com]

Oooh, write it! Go on, you know you want to!

And, Familiar-as-love interest FTW!

[pineapplechild.livejournal.com]

I vote for priest-hero's LI to be farm-boy-turned-villain. I think you could add in a terrible/repressive government, and provide a) an impetus for farm boy to go evil (there's a lot justifiable in "but I'd do it *better*, I just have to get power first") and b) some sort of internal conflict for priest-hero. Maybe that's why he and his familiar got in trouble.
Or possibly some sort of... no, that's a different story.

"Pull out a weapon and fight!" "What weapon? I'm a bloody priest!"

[cevangel.livejournal.com]

The above were memorable quotes from Gryvon's "In God's Hands." It's incomplete but that was the fic that made me think it was totally awesome to have a priest for a main character.

Well, enough with the story pimping, I love it when simple boring cliches can be unique with a simple twist. I think that farmer from nowhere thing was most blatant in the Wheel of Time series (never did manage to finish that one after someone called it a Waste of Time). But cool, cool, your like the best at handling all your rampant plot bunnies so go for it if you want.

How did your Nanowrimo go? Weren't u working on Weathermage or something else?

[gossymer.livejournal.com]

For some reason this made me think of Guild Wars and how when trying to become a Warrior-Monk my character ended up as a Warrior-Necromancer o__O Instead of healing and increased support in group combat, she leached energy from enemies >__>

WHenever I hear the word Shaman, I think peeps who communicate with the dead, provide old school counseling etc. Not sure how that turns into a badass villain unless he's the manipulative, woring-behind-the-scenes kind. But I lack the imagination so...will read whatever you come up with and cheer XD

[rotewolken.livejournal.com]

That sounds really cool actually. Legend of Dragoon comes to mind with the whole 'my village was destroyed, and now I have to save the world' thing. That had a really interesting premise too with the MC's being slightly elemental based. I never finished that though.

Eastern priest/shaman would be a cool MC too. It doesn't seem that common either. And someone said that shaman makes them think of someone who communicates with the dead, but I was thinking animal spirits. Maybe he uses paper charms and his familiar to talk to nature spirits/request their help?

It is a very cool idea though.

[(Anonymous)]

Oh my god! I had this exact idea! I wrote it for nanowrimo! Well, except for the losing villiage or girl part. He almost-kinda did, but he saved his villiage and goes to save the world, but turns evil instead!

That's kinda creepy...0.o

[(Anonymous)]

There is a game called Fable where I think it starts off as you said but you can choose to become a hero or a villain.

[anialove.livejournal.com]

I've been reading new stuffs on the intertubes all weekend . . .

. . . and that little pondering was far better than the crap I wasted it [my weekend] on.

[icytanya.livejournal.com]

You know you'll write it eventually (if only because the combination of puppy dog eyes and plot bunnies will drive you mad) so why not dispense with the begging? I'm perfectly willing to beg though...
Just one thing- why would he turn evil? If he was good at first- does he do it because he's really a good man at heart but bitter or usual stuff(money/power/pretty boy) ??? And if he was evil from before then did he destroy his village himself or was it destroyed to destroy him?
Too much destruction...